Roundup

"Berlin Celebrates 20th Anniversary Of Wall's Fall" [audio 2 min 47 sec]

Ceremonies and celebrations marking the fall of the Berlin Wall are taking place in that city today, the 20th anniversary of the day the wall was breached. World leaders joined German Chancellor Angela Merkel in walking through the Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin, crossing the line where the wall once divided the city. Michele Norris talks to NPR's Eric Westervelt, reporting from the German capital.

"Voices Of Revolution: Romania" [audio 3 min 18 sec]

All this week, we hear firsthand accounts of the end of communism in Eastern Europe 20 years ago in our series Voices from a Revolution. Today, we hear a voice from Romania — Mircea Dinescu — a dissident poet and writer who helped storm the state-run TV station, and the man who announced live on air that "the dictator has fled!"

"Veterans' Voices: Returning Home From The Gulf War" [audio 2 min 28 sec]

Charles Sheehan-Miles was a tank loader in the Gulf War, engaged in combat in the 24th Division. He had a hard time coming back to civilian life. How do you answer, he wonders, when someone asks, "How was it?" Sheehan-Miles wrote a fictionalized account of his time in the Gulf, called Prayer At Rumayla, to give some indication.

"Veterans' Voices: Returning Home From Afghanistan" [audio 2 min 54 sec]

This Veterans Day, we're bringing you stories of veterans recounting their homecoming. Some remember being welcomed to the sound of band music and cheering. But Army Spc. Jeanne O'Brien remembers a different, somber scene when she returned home from Afghanistan.

"Antony Beevor Reads D-Day: The Battle for Normandy" [video 55 min 23 sec]

From critically acclaimed world historian Beevor, comes the first major account in more than 20 years to cover the whole Normandy invasion, from June 6, 1944, right up to the liberation of Paris on August 25 of the same year. Includes photos and 17 insert maps.

"Veterans' Voices: Coming Home From Korea" [audio 2 min 24 sec}

Ray Kalil served in the Army during the Korean War — also known as "The Forgotten War." His experience returning from an unpopular conflict was a low-key affair compared to his older brother, who fought in World War II.

"Coming Home: A History of War Veterans" [audio 54 min 56 sec]

Between the global recession and the swine flu pandemic, news about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has become scanty-at-best. What little coverage there is tends to focus on developments overseas. In this Veterans' Day special, the History Guys look at what happens when vets return home. Sons of Confederate Veterans spokesman Frank Earnest makes a case for separating the politics of war from our remembrance of its veterans. Historian Rebecca Jo Plant discusses the changing expectations for vet

Berlin remembers fall of the Wall [video 2 minutes, 24 seconds]

World leaders have hailed the Berlin Wall's fall in celebrations 20 years on from the upheaval that changed Europe. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was joined at the Brandenburg Gate by Russia's Dmitry Medvedev, France's Nicolas Sarkozy and UK PM Gordon Brown. In a special video address, US President Barack Obama said Berliners had rebuked tyranny on 9 November 1989. The event two decades ago led Germany to reunify, caused the collapse of the Soviet Union a

The Wall's Rise & Fall [multimedia interactive]

In 1989, editor Terry Roth was at the heart of the Journal's coverage of the fall of the Berlin Wall and its aftermath. He revisits the events surrounding the wall – from its sudden construction to German reunification.

A Gas Gas Gas [audio 5 minutes 46 seconds]

August 1944, America's involvement in World War II is full swing and many American men are overseas when the Mad Gasser of Mattoon begins to prowl the streets. Noted by the effect's caused on his victims that can smell a sickly sweetness that causes the immobility of legs, coughing and vomiting, the Mad Gasser attacks men and women a like in their homes. The Mad Gasser is described as being tall, thin, and dressed in all black. The most astonishing fact about this individual is the fact that it

Talking with Historian and Activist Howard Zinn [audio 11 minutes, 35 secconds]

Today, we bring you a conversation with historian and playwright Howard Zinn. He’s been active in civil rights and anti-war movements in America. But Zinn may be best known for writing A People’s History of the United States. The book strives to reveal the stories of those he feels have been left out of the established American narrative. Tomorrow night, Zinn will be the keynote speaker on an issue he’s taken on in recent years. The 9th annual Campaign to End the Death Penalty convention takes p

Lin-Manuel Miranda Performs The Hamilton Mixtape at the White House Poetry Jam [video 4 minutes 27 seconds]

Writer and star of the Broadway musical In the Heights, Lin-Manuel Miranda performs"The Hamilton Mixtape" at the White House Evening of Poetry, Music, and the Spoken Word on May 12, 2009. Accompanied by Alex Lacamoire. (public domain)

From Mesopotamia to Iraq: Historical Perspectives on the Middle East [audio 1 hour 58 minutes 30 seconds]

Professors and scholars offer a historical perspective in a discussion on the area now known as Iraq. First, Dr. Kenneth Harl of Tulane University talks about the occupation of the lands known as Mesopotamia during the Roman Era. Second, Dr. Nabil Al-Tikriti from the University of Mary Washington takes on the period through the Ottoman Empire. And finally, Dr. Fred Naiden, also of Tulane, examines the British rule to the present. University of Tulsa's Dr. Paul Rahe ties the whole thing together

Pew Research: Highlights from 2009 Pulse of Europe Survey [video 7 minutes, 14 seconds]

Two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, what do Europeans think of the transition to democracy and free markets? Andrew Kohut presents findings from a new Pew Global Attitudes poll in this slideshow with audio commentary by Andrew Kohut.

Free Running - PM Abolhassan Banisadr [audio]

Sometimes speaking truth to power, even when you're in power, means risking your life. That's why Abolhassan Banisadr, the first President of Iran following the 1979 revolution, fled in 1981 to take up political asylum in France. Nor has he seen eye to eye with the clerics ever since. What's surprising is that Mr. Banisadr's critique of the Iranian regime, of what's going on in Afghanistan, and of developments in the Islamic world generally, isn't pitched at particular contextual facts so much a

Ill. State Museum launches ag history Web site

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Illinois State Museum has launched a Web site dedicated to the history of Illinois Agriculture. The Web site is called the Audio-Video Barn and features 300 hours of interviews with more than 130 people involved in Illinois agriculture since 1880. The video and audio interviews were generated during a two-year oral history project conducted by the museum and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The Web site is

Remembering Amelia Earhart's Stop In Utah Town [audio 3 minutes 45 seconds]

It's not everyday a celebrity drops in unannounced in a small town, but that's exactly what happened 80 years ago in Eureka, Utah. The celebrity was Amelia Earhart, the pioneering aviator.

From the Vault: They Remember Dvorak [audio 57 minutes 6 seconds combined]

This week we feature another contribution from Pacifica Radio's From The Vault series, a re-broadcast of part of Pacifica Radio's 1970 Award-Winning program, "They Remember Dvorak." Here is FTV's summary of the documentary: "Dvorak was more than happy living in Eastern Europe and presenting his grand Symphonies around Europe. But in 1892, he was invited to move to America, an offer which he originally scoffed at. Why would he put his family in harms way from the savage American In

Night Witches: Russian Women Fighter Pilots [audio 23 minutes]

One cold spring day in 1943, two junior lieutenants, Tamara Pamyatnykh and Raisa Surnachevskaya, were on a routine patrol over a Soviet railway junction. Suddenly they were confronted by an armada of 42 German bombers - they reacted immediately. Diving with the sun behind them, the women opened fire on the centre of the Junkers formation. Each pilot shot down two enemy planes. Tamara ran out of ammunition and was going to ram another bomber with her airplane, when her wing was shot

USS New York Battleship takes its place in history [video 1 minute, 38 seconds]

The USS New York Battleship took a tour around New York City this morning and went under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, paused at the World Trade Center site, then up and back the Upper West Side before docking in Midtown Manhattan. The USS New York is an Landing Platform Deck (LPD 21) and is a "mobility triad uniquely adaptable to a variety of modern day combat situations," according to the USS New York.org website. The USS New York completed a five-day voyage from Norfol